Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper (* April 27, 1840 in London, † September 16, 1911 in Chamonix, France ) was an English mountaineer. He achieved fame in particular by the ascent of the Matterhorn.
Life
Whymper was born in poverty and experienced a youth without great prospects for the future. The publisher Thomas Longman of London discovered his talent for drawing and sent him as an illustrator in the Alps. Here Whymper began to be interested in mountain climbing. Already in 1864 he caused a sensation with the first ascent of the Barre des Ecrins, the Aiguille d' Argentière and Mont Dolent and 1865 with the first ascent of the Aiguille Verte, and the Grandes Jorasses ( Pointe Whymper ) in early summer 1865. His place in the history of mountaineering he was finally with the subsequent ascent of the Matterhorn.
The first ascent of this 4,478 m high mountain he succeeded on 14 July 1865., The chosen route took him from Zermatt via the Hörnligrat to the summit and is the normal route today largely congruent. Besides Whymper belonged to the successful roped his compatriots Lord Francis Douglas, Reverend Charles Hudson and Robert Hadow and the mountain guide Michel Croz from Chamonix, Peter Taugwalder and its eponymous son of Zermatt. They sat there in a duel against Jean -Antoine Carrel by who tried to rise above the Lion ridge from the Italian Breuil at the same time.
As you descend the rope team rushed four men on the north wall to death. The high mountains in the still relatively inexperienced Hadow slipped, fell on Michel Croz and pulled Charles Hudson and Lord Francis Douglas with it. When trying Taugwalder to keep falling, the rope broke. Edward Whymper, father and son Taugwalder returned safely to Zermatt. The accusation that Whymper had the rope cut through, was examined later, but could not be confirmed.
Whymper pursued the memories of the accident:
" Every night, do you understand, I see my comrades of the Matterhorn slipping on Their backs, Their arms outstretched, one after the other, in perfect order at equal distances - Croz the guide, first, then Hadow, then Hudson, and lastly Douglas. Yes, I shall always see them ... "
" Every night, you see, I see my comrades of the Matterhorn slipping on their backs, stretched out her arms, one after the other, in perfect alignment with the same intervals - Croz the guide first, then Hadow, then Hudson and Douglas last. Yes, I'll always see ... "
With the ascent of the Matterhorn ends the era of big first ascents and the so-called " Golden Age " of mountaineering.
1880 Edward Whymper climbed the 6310 meter high Andean volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador first. From the eponymous 5000 meter high mountain refuge today perform multiple, different difficult routes to Ecuador or Whymper main summit.
Thereafter he devoted himself to writing, dealt with altitude physiology and operating in the Rocky Mountains with a show troupe Swiss mountain guide advertising for the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1904 he initiated the first ascent of Crowsnest Mountain in the " Rockies ". Shunned as an outsider, Whymper died 1911 in Chamonix.
His name still carry the second highest summit of the Grandes Jorasses ( Pointe Whymper ) and the Whymper Couloir on the Aiguille Verte.
The duel for the first ascent of the Matterhorn was also filmed. Directed by Nunzio Malasomma created in 1928 after appearing in the same year historical novel The struggle for Matterhorn by Carl Haensel a silent film of the same name, Luis Trenker turned the 1938 film The mountains are calling.
James Ramsey Ullman processed the events surrounding the first ascent in his 1954 published novel Rudi mountain guide ( Banner in the Sky ). In it, he took over the actual course but some poetic liberties and changed the names of the parties. The book was in 1959 by Ken Annakin under the title The Third Man in the Mountain ( Third Man on the Mountain ) filmed. The star in this Walt Disney production played Michael Rennie, James MacArthur, Janet Munro, James Donald and Herbert Lom.
Works (selection)
As a writer
- Matterhorn. The long road to the summit, AS Verlag, Zurich, 2005, ISBN 3-909111-14-9.
- The first ascent of the Matterhorn, web site publishing, Ebersdorf b Bremervörde, 2006, ISBN 3-935982-69-0.
- Scrambles among the Alps, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, Calif. 1981, ISBN 0-89815-043-4.
- Travels amongst the Great Andes of the equator, Peregrine Smith, Salt Lake City, 1987, ISBN 0-87905-281-3.
As an illustrator
- Isabella Bishop: Among the Tibetans ( Collected travel writings, Vol 12), Ganesha Publishing, Bristol 1997, ISBN 1-86210-001-2.